A Lisgar O'Connor fan teaches the next generation

Last Saturday Bill and Sly attended Manon Roy's Annual Student Recital at University of Ottawa's Freiman Hall. Manon is a great supporter of Lisgar O'Connor and we feel privileged to count her among our friends. She successfully shares her love for music with children, teenagers and adults alike. Manon is one of the many talented piano teachers in the Ottawa-Gatineau area as well as a fantastic performer herself (you should hear her shred to pieces Chopin, Schubert and Haendel - not all at once, mind you). We were very impressed by the level of proficiency she conveyed to her students. Thank you Manon for sharing the light!

By the way, if you're looking for piano lessons, Manon's class will have a couple of openings in the Fall. Email us at lisgaroconnor@yahoo.com and we'll put you through to her.

Bill and Sly with the "Grande Dame" of the grand piano.

Rumour Mill Working Overtime

Since the recent announcement that the Rolling Stones will play in Ottawa, speculation has abounded regarding a presumed appearance of Lisgar O'Connor as the opening act for the concert, slated for August 28, 2005.

The dynamic duo went on record to dispel any confusion, stating that they had not been approached by the Rolling Stones, their representatives, nor by the concert promoters or their agents to open the concert in Ottawa or anywhere else in the world.

They went on to further clarify the situation by saying, “At this time, Lisgar O'Connor has no definite plans to perform at the Rolling Stones concert in Ottawa in August 2005 or thereafter because Lisgar O'Connor was simply not invited to do so. If Lisgar O'Connor had been invited, that might have been a different story, but it is just not the case.”

The folked-up bluesmen were contrite about the circulation of such a potentially emotionally devastating untruth: “Sorry folks, we'd like to perform at Lansdowne Park for you, but we're just not ‘gate-crashing’ types”, said Sylvain. “On the other hand, please keep reading this blog since we'll herewith advertise our upcoming shows in the nice and respectable venues we usually play”, he added.

“When the Stones do come to town, we will cordially invite them to come and sing a song or two with us”, said Bill. “Whether they do is entirely up to them.”

The Rolling Stones will play at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa
on August 28, 2005, but (probably) not Lisgar O'Connor.

Back From the Big City!

Montreal: a strange city where to go downtown you must
first go under it ...

Well, folks, Lisgar O'Connor is back from the Big City where we had a fantastic evening at the Café L'Utopik, 552 Ste-Catherine East in Montreal. If you’re ever in the neighbourhood, check it out: they offer live entertainment every single night of the week plus they serve the best vegetarian food we’ve ever had! Oh yeah ... They also have beer in a nice collection of taps ...

Since it was the first time Lisgar O'Connor went to perform in such a large city, we decided to enlist a few fellow musicians to help us make a nice impression.

We chose friends we affectionately nicknamed “The Train Gang”, because they all work on the Hull-Wakefield Steam Train (http://www.steamtrain.ca/) as musicians-entertainers.

The Train Gang: JP, Marie-Claire and Simon, with Bill and
Sly, shoot the breeze in front of the Café L'Utopik on busy
Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal.

So Marie-Claire on fiddle, and Simon and Jean-Philippe on guitars, gracefully stepped into the Lisgar O'Connor Legend to deliver a great show to the Café L'Utopik’s patrons.

The Trip

When Bill and Sly left Ottawa with Marie-Claire and Simon, they never thought they were embarking on a metaphysical journey.

Be careful when you read aloud text on mirrors and
cereal boxes: you could be opening Pandora's Box ...

A casual mention of “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear” by Bill sparked Simon to explain to us everything we needed to know about Greek philosophy.

Simon explains to Marie-Claire, Bill and Sly that,
according to Plutarch, seagulls are, in fact, edible.

Marie-Claire looks out the window in
disbelief after what she just heard
Simon say ...

Bill is having a mind-expanding experience
listening to Simon's wisdom.

Sly keeps his eyes on the road and his hands upon the wheel.

The Café L'Utopik

Upon arrival at the Café L’Utopik, Bill, Sly, Simon and Marie-Claire were greeted by JP and a few friends who had gathered to attend the show.

Sly and Clément, relaxing at the thought that blood is
thicker than beer.

After a quick soundcheck with the help of Mark, Café L’Utopik’s manager and sound engineer, and a quick smoke in Café L’Utopik’s smoking lounge, Lisgar O’Connor and The Train Gang were all set to go.

Bill and Clément, enjoying a last
smoke in Café L'Utopik's
smoking lounge.

Sly and Bill, opening the night with Stan Roger's
"Northwest Passage," in front of a crowded house.

Sly and Bill, joined on stage by The Train Gang, offer a
devilish rendition of "All Of Me", a well-known jazz
standard.

The Train Gang: Marie-Claire, Simon and JP wooed the
crowd with their lively renditions of Gipsy jazz tunes,
Scottish and Irish jigs, as well as excellent performances
of Tom Waits and Neil Young songs.

Élyse and Rosalie, two of Café L'Utopik's
friendly staff members, got inspired by
Lisgar O'Connor's and The Train Gang's
music to turn the kitchen floor into a
dance hall.

Thank You, all!

Our warmest thanks to Maude for giving Lisgar O’Connor the opportunity to perform in Montreal at the Café L’Utopik. Also thanks to Mark, Nancy, Élyse and Rosalie for the warm welcome. We had a great time and really enjoyed the food, the drinks and the atmosphere of your cool little café, as well as the warmth and friendliness of your staff and patrons!

Thank you to Simon, Marie-Claire and Jean-Philippe for your great musicianship and company. You really helped make this Montreal adventure a magical evening.

The sun was rising over the Ottawa River when Sly and
Bill made it back home after a fantastic evening in
Montreal.

Lisgar O'Connor hits Montreal

Well, that's it people. You've been looking for an excuse to get away from Ottawa for a few hours and, boy, have we found one for you!

Lisgar O'Connor is going to play

this Saturday, May 7, at 10:00 PM
at Café L'Utopik
552, Ste-Catherine St. East
Montreal PQ

This quaint coffee house is on the second floor of a smoke shop, just off Berri, east of Archambault's Music Store. It is just across from the Berri-UQAM subway station and two blocks south from the Voyageur bus terminal. How convenient!

They serve great vegetarian food (full of folic acid and everything) as well as the healthiest and most fulfilling of all beverages: beer.

See you there!

Le Café L'Utopik on Ste-Catherine Street, E.

Where the heck IS Le Café L'Utopik??

Congratulations messages abound

Further to the Ottawa Citizen placing Lisgar O’Connor’s blog on their Top Ten List of Ottawa blogs, we received (almost) countless congratulatory messages on our email address: lisgaroconnor@yahoo.com. Here are some excerpts:

"I was so giddy on Saturday when my girlfriend screamed at me under the table, "Bill and Sly made the Citizen". Well, actually, at first I had that pissy "just-woke-up" feeling, then, confusion, because, really, the Citizen's been around a lot longer than you, so I didn't see how you could have made it. After a few coffees and a recap of the events since banging my head on the underside of table, the giddiness with which this missive began did, in fact, hit. Metaphorically, thank God."

Jacques

"Hey ... what ... are there pictures of naked people or what? I can't get there with my stupid computer and am really curious now. Congrats! Other than obvious talent, what sets you guys apart?"

Sharon

"Your blog hits home for me."

Hugh

Thanks for the kind words and, Jacques, stop sleeping under the table!

The "Ottawaness" of Lisgar O'Connor's Blog

Well, the Ottawa Citizen's Alex Munter said it: "You've got to love the Ottawaness of this blog's name, which recounts the trials and tribulations of two struggling musicians." And in the same stroke of his pen, he placed Lisgar O'Connor's blog at number 4 of the Top Ten Ottawa Blogs.

Well, thank you very much Mr. Munter, Lisgar O'Connor is flattered and hopes to live up to any expectations this nomination might create.

"On any Top 10 list, the number 4 spot is probably the most comfortable," said Bill. "It's right in the meaty part of the curve, close enough to the no. 1 spot, but far enough from no. 10. Number 9 is to be avoided at all costs: thanks to the Beatles, we know that when played backwards, it sounds like 'Turn me on, dead man'."

"Four is my lucky number," added Sly. "If I had one fewer fingers in my left hand, I'd have four. If I had three fewer orifices in my head, I'd have four. I have two arms and two legs; that makes four limbs. If I break two strings on my guitar, hey, I still have four left! I once was exactly 4 feet tall (when I was 8 years old -- two times four). But I will never be 4 metres tall."

Congratulations to Lana Stewart who reached the no. 1 spot. Go visit her blog at http://www.placeandthyme.com/; she does take nice pictures. Hey, maybe she'll come and take pictures of Lisgar O'Connor at our next gig!